Shades of James
by JailyForever
Summary: A collection James AUs (1) Fairy!James wants to win the new Queen's heart. (2) Ghost!James wants his revenge. (3) Dementor!James aids a new friend in getting revenge. (4) Vampire!James follows the object of his obsession. (5) Merman!James has a surprise when he returns home (6) Fallen Angel James sees the man he has loved and lost many times over the last millennia
1. Fairy James

**Event:** Costume Party

 **Costume:** Fairy

 **Word Count:** 831

* * *

Fairy!James - The Way To Her Heart

James stared at the new Fairy Queen. His heart pounding so hard that he thought it would come out of his chest. She looking utterly breathtaking as she stood next to the unworthy suitor who was aiming to become her betrothed.

According to what he had heard, Severus had been her father's first choice for a match before his untimely passing, and most unfortunately for the fairy, the match had not been legally documented in accordance with fairy law. Whilst unlucky for him, it was beneficial to James who still had a shot with the beautiful fairy who had captured his heart from the very first moment he had set eyes on her.

His wings fluttered with delight as Lily dismissed the Severus from her sight, and judging from the expression on her face and the way the tips of her wings burned red, she was not impressed with the duplicitous fairy.

James suspected, given Lily's apparent indifference towards her suitor, that he would have every chance of winning her heart, especially now that she was free from her father who had sabotaged his few previous attempts to get her attention because he had been something of a troublemaker in his school days.

The question was: How would he win her heart?

That question plagued his mind over the next week as he watched her from afar to learn more about her likes, dislikes and what she truly was passionate about.

In that time, the thing that really struck James was how much time and energy she spent flying back and forth to the edge of the forest to watch the children play. One particular time that stuck in his memory was when one the children fell and appeared to have broken her ankle, and Lily waved her hand, allowing her magic to float over to the little girl and heal her. James noticed the twinkle in Lily's eyes as she watched the girl get up and continue to play. In that moment, James knew that he had found his way to Lily's heart—the children.

And so from that day on, whenever Lily fluttered away from their colony, James followed her and whilst she was watching, unseen by her, he used his magic to bring good fortune to the children she adored so much. After all, he didn't want to make it seem obvious that he was trying to be noticed by her and doing it so that she would see what a great match that he would be for her.

The look on her face every time she saw the children being blessed was enough to tide him over for the time being, especially since she was showing no interest at all in any of the fairies that were throwing themselves at her. Plus, and he would deny it if anyone asked, he found that he quite enjoyed using his magic to help others.

And then one day as he was about to flutter over an aid a child who was about to fall off her bike, Lily appeared in front of him.

"Stop," Lily instructed him as the little girl toppled off her bike.

"Why?" James asked, reigning in his magic. "I'm only trying to help. There's no harm in that."

"I knew one of our kind was helping the children," she said softly. "But I never expected it to be you. The boy who always loved to play pranks and found it funny when others got hurt."

"Fairies change," James said, shrugging his shoulders as he watched the little girl's mother rush over to her and clean up her grazed knee. He turned his attention back to Lily. "I still don't understand why I couldn't help her."

"Because, you won't always be there to stop her falling," Lily sighed. "And the remarkable thing about these children is they are incredibly resilient—when they fall over, they get straight back up and have another go. See?"

James refocused on the child. Sure enough she was climbing back to her feet and getting back on her bike.

"Wow!" James exclaimed. "They sure are remarkable creatures these human children."

"Indeed they are," Lily agreed, smiling at James and taking his hand in hers. "It's why I love to come here and watch them play. Come, we should return to the kingdom now."

"Why?" James asked, wondering what could be so important that she would abandon her favourite pastime.

"We have an announcement to make," Lily stated simply, releasing her hand from his. "It is time to inform the people that they will soon have a new King."

"Who?" James questioned, curious as to who had wormed their way into her heart whilst he was playing the long game.

"You of course," she told him, fluttering her wings and moving away from the clearing. "Well, are you coming?"

"Yes!" James exclaimed with glee, taking one last look at the child before joining the beautiful fairy who would soon be his wife."


	2. Ghost James

**Event:** Costume Party

 **Costume:** Ghost

 **Word Count:** 801

* * *

Ghost!James - Vengeance Will Be Mine

James floated through the wall of the once familiar house which had been destroyed ta year ago in the attack that had cost him and his wife their lives.

He floated up the stairs, shaking his head as he passed the point where he had fallen. He had been an idiot to leave his wand so carelessly to one side when they were in danger, but then again he had not expected Pettigrew, the weak, cowardly member of their group to be such a… rat. They should have known as soon as his animagus form revealed itself years ago. There had been a passage in the book they had used to aid them about animagus forms can reveal your inner nature.

And speaking of the treacherous little weasel, James had finally discovered where he had been hiding out since that Halloween. But before he set off on a course to make his life a living hell, he wanted to revisit the scene of the crime.

He travelled through to the bedroom and stared at the cot which was still in the same place it had been when his beautiful boy had somehow survived the killing curse. His eyes moved to the spot where his Lily had fallen protecting their son. He couldn't help but feel as though he had failed them. But he wouldn't have failed them if not for the rat.

"I'm sorry Lily," he whispered to the empty spot where he envisioned his wife's dead body to be laying. He turned to face the cot again. "I'm sorry Harry. I promise you now though, I will not rest until I avenge you both. Pettigrew won't know what has hit him."

He felt his ghostly form fill with rage before he floated out of the window and started on the long journey to the place he had tracked the traitor to. He still could not quite believe the nerve of him to make his home with one of the families he had sworn allegiance to.

~o~o~o~

He waited until the dead of night, when all the family were sleeping before he entered their house. He knew that if he were to show himself to them, they would be more than welcoming and hand the rat over to the proper authorities themselves, but James wanted to make Pettigrew feel just a fraction of what he had felt when he had lost his family before that happened.

"Peter," he whispered quietly as he floated up towards the red-headed boy's bedroom on the second floor. "Come out, come out wherever you are."

A quiet scurrying sound to his right caught his attention and James turned to face it.

"There you are, you treacherous little weasel," he whispered as the rat halted in front of him. "Bet you never thought you'd see me again, did you?"

In a flash and the blink of an eye, the rat changed into a cowering human.

"J—James, h—h—how?" the man stuttered quietly, shuffling backwards l in surprise at the ghost's magic. "What are you d—doing here?"

James narrowed his eyes at him and sent him flying backwards down the stairs. "What am I doing here? That is all you have to say to the man you betrayed? To the man whose family, thanks to you, is DEAD?"

"I'm sorry," Peter whispered. "He made me. He threatened to kill me."

James raised his arm and pointed it at Peter, feeling his ghostly magic crackling. It was time to start experimenting with his new powers and discover just what he could achieve with them. In the last year, during his search for Peter, he had learnt that the key was visualisation.

In his mind's eye he saw Peter thrashing on the floor in pain, and willed it into reality. He offered his former friend a smirk as he writhed around, finding it to be quite a pleasant experience.

After a few minutes, James willed it to stop. "That was only a fraction of the pain you're going to suffer for what you have done."

"N—not Azkaban. Not the d—d—dementors," Peter stuttered.

James' lips curled into a sly smirk. "Not for a while, Wormtail, but one day."

Without another word, James floated out of the house satisfied in the knowledge that Peter's suffering had begun. Turning around when he reached the outskirts of the Burrow, James raised his transparent arms and willed an invisible barrier into existence that no animagus would be able to pass through. After all, he couldn't very well have Peter leaving his new 'home' and ruin his fun.

He had a lot in store for the pitiful excuse for a man before he revealed himself to Molly and Arthur and informed them of the true nature of their new pet rat.


	3. Dementor James

**Event:** Costume Party

 **Costume:** Dementor

 **Writing Club:** Back to the Future Day - Write a story using at least 2 flashbacks (of at least 100 words each)

 **Word Count:** 3892

* * *

Dementor!James - An Unexpected Friend

James glided through the cold, chilly island prison, feeding on the misery of the many deserving inmates. He relished in their worst memories and his personal favourite to visit was Bellatrix Lestrange who was by far the witch who deserved to be here the most.

He paused outside her cell and stared at her. She looked back at him, and as with every visit he paid, she looking at him mockingly as if to say do your best. He knew that by the end of his visit she would be nothing more than a cowering mess in the corner. It was James' favourite part of his job guarding Azkaban, destroying the minds and souls of those who had committed the most heinous crimes.

"Ready for more, witch," he hissed quietly.

"Give it your best shot, filth," she sneered, stalking towards her cell door. "When my master returns, and believe me he will, you will be sorry."

As James glided closer to the cell door, a feeling of overwhelming misery and grief instantly satiated his immediate need to feed. His attention piqued by this stranger, James glided away from her cell and turned his attention towards the end of the corridor.

"You're going to rot in here for your crimes," the auror said gruffly as they rounded the corner. "If I had been on the Wizengamot for your trial, you would have been suffering from the dementor's kiss by now."

James observed the dishevelled, broken man being shoved into his new cell, noticing how he didn't appear to be fighting it. It almost appeared as though he felt he deserved to be there which only served to pique his interest even more.

He tilted his head to one side as he reached the closest point he could without feeling the effects of the auror's patronus, and listened to the brief conversation that followed, eager to find out more about the reason this man was here.

"Remus and Lily were the best people I knew, and you are the reason they are dead," the auror whispered, slamming the door shut. "The only glimmer of light in this mess that you have caused is that their son lives, and after a month on the run you are where you belong.."

 _A murderer, nothing new there,_ James thought to himself. It was a well known fact that the majority of the inmates of Azkaban had killed and committed far worse atrocities.

"Harry's alive," the man said, slumping to the ground as his eyes, uncharacteristically for an inmate, glistened with tears. "Is he safe? Is he loved? Please tell me."

 _He cares about the boy. That is interesting. No inmate has ever cared about another before._

"You gave up any right to that knowledge the day you gave your life to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," the auror hissed before turning on his heel and heading back down the corridor the way he came, his husky patronus following closely behind.

The man in the cell jumped to his feet and grasped the iron bars that caged him. "But I didn't do anything." he cried loudly. "It wasn't me!"

James glided towards the cell, halting in front of the man who was still quietly claiming his innocence. He closed his eyes and began to feed on the man's worst memory.

" _Sirius, go, he's here," Lily cried loudly. "Get Harry and leave. Remus and I will fend him off!"_

"No, Lily, I won't leave you," Sirius answered. "You should be the one to leave with Harry. He needs his mother."

 _Lily's answer was cut off by a door being blown off its hinges, and a tall, skeletal man entered. He raised his wand and pointed it at the brunette who had just appeared at the bottom of the stairs. A streak of green light left it and him squarely in the chest, and the man fell to the ground._

" _Lily, go to Harry," Sirius whispered, rushing over to grab his wand. "Now!"_

 _The redhead looked between the two men she loved more than anything in the world before nodding her head in agreement._

" _I love you," she whispered before darting into the kitchen to get her own wand and apparate upstairs to her infant son._

 _Sirius turned his attention to the dark wizard whose foot rested on the bottom step. He raised his wand and sent a stinging hex towards him, hoping to distract him for long enough so Lily could make her escape._

 _It worked._

 _The man paused and turned towards him, raising his wand._

" _I have no interest in killing you, Black," he whispered. "I gave my word to a loyal servant that I would leave you to take the fall for him. An odd request, but one that I granted in return for his information. You should take care in who you trust in the future… not that you have much of one."_

 _Before Sirius could act, a streak of red light hit him and sent him flying against the wall, knocking him out._

 _Sirius awoke an hour later. He could hear the Muggle sirens ringing, but his only thought was for Lily. Had she got away with Harry?_

 _He leapt to his feet and raced through the house to Harry's bedroom, and his heart sank when he saw Lily's lifeless body on the ground. A few tears leaked from his eyes as he turned to looked at the cot, fully expecting to see that the boy, who was as good as his own, was dead, only to find that it was empty._

 _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named must have taken his dead body as a prize._

 _Sirius allowed himself only a few moments to grieve before letting the anger at his friend's betrayal consume him. He was going to murder that lying, treacherous piece of filth, and then the twisted man he served if it was the last thing he did._

James opened his eyes and stared blankly at the innocent man. For the first time in his life, he had not taken any pleasure at all in his feeding. Instead he felt pity for this broken man in front of him, and desired to help him.

"Is that it?" the man croaked. "I expected worse from a dementor of Azkaban."

"You are not guilty of your crime," James muttered in response. "You don't deserve my brand of punishment. You shouldn't be here."

"I am guilty," the man sighed. "If I hadn't been so adamant about staying with Remus and Lily, the loves of my life, and chosen the path of being the secret keeper as Dumbledore suggested, they would still be safe. They would be alive!"

"You don't know that," James muttered, placing his hands on the cells bars. " _He_ would have found another way. I heard of this potion veritaserum; _he_ may have used that."

"He would never have found me!" Sirius snapped. "And if he had I would have died before letting him pour any of that down my neck."

"There's no use worrying about ifs and buts," James told him. "The way I see you have two options: languish in this cell, wasting away, or you can get revenge. Which is it?"

Sirius glanced up and looked at James for the first time.

"If it was an option, I'd choose revenge," he growled, "but we both know that it isn't. No one has ever escaped from this prison and I cannot see myself being the first."

"Perhaps not on your own, but with a little help from yours truly, it is more than achievable," James said, a smile crossing his hidden face.

"Why would you help me?" Sirius asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"You don't deserve to be here, and after what I just saw, I kind of want to get revenge for you," James answered. "Plus, the redhead was hot for a human."

"She has...had that effect on people," Sirius replied. "It's why Remus and I entered a triad relationship with her. We were already together a couple of years when we became attracted to her. It took some convincing before she agreed though. The first time we asked her, she threatened to curse our balls off if we ever mentioned it again."

"She sounds like my kind of female," James chuckled. "Gorgeous and ballsy."

"She was," Sirius sighed sadly.

"So, let's get you out of here and find the son of a bitch responsible," James declared.

"How?" Sirius asked.

"You're not the only beings who have powers," James answered, tightening his grip on the cell door and pulling it open.

"How did you—?"

"There's no time for questions now," James told him, cutting him off. "It won't be long before the silent alarm goes off and the premises is flooded with aurors. If we're going to do this, we need to do it now. Follow me."

James glided down the corridor, feeding briefly on the inhabitants of the cells along the way. He didn't know how long it would be before he had the chance to feed again, and he was quite certain his new companion would not allow him to feed on a random, undeserving stranger in the streets.

After a few minutes, James and Sirius reached the top of the steps that led up to the interior of the island prison.

"Hey, genius," Sirius panted as he jogged down the steps, "now that we're outside, how do you plan on getting us off the island? Because in case you haven't noticed, unlike you, I can't fly."

James turned to face Sirius and hovered there, halting the wizard's progress.

"What do they teach you about my kind in school?" James asked. "We do not fly, we glide, and we can take passengers with us too."

"Really?" Sirius asked, sounding surprised at this information.

"Yes really," James sighed. "What kind of education did you get?"

"An excellent one, thank you very much," Sirius replied. "But it would seem that Professor Merrythought left out a few things."

"As much as I would love to continue this chat, the aurors will be here in less than a minute by my estimation," James said, holding out his hand. "Hold on tight."

Sensing some hesitation on Sirius part, James reached out and grabbed his hand and began to glide at full speed across the ocean.

~o~o~o~

"Are you sure this is the place?" James asked the dog next to him, recalling the last three locations they had been to over the last couple of months.

"I'm positive," Sirius said after turning back into his human form.

"You said that last time and we ended up scarring a young couple for life," James replied, remembering the way the two teenagers had scrambled for their clothes and bolted from the abandoned building.

"Well this time I'm sure," Sirius told him, pushing open the door of the secluded cabin. "I'd recognise that traitor's scent anywhere."

"You said that last time too," James pointed out, gliding into the building behind him.

"I made a mistake," Sirius said. "And it was a completely reasonable one. Pettigrew was always hooking up with random girls, Remus and I always suspected they were prostitutes since he never had any game with the women."

"Your point?" James asked, failing to see what he meant.

"My point is, the guy always smelt of sex," Sirius stated quietly, creeping towards the stairs. "Can you blame me for picking up on that scent and mistaking it for him?"

"Fair enough," James answered. "So, what are we going to do when we find him?"

"You, my friend, are going to have the best feed of your life whilst I torture the git," Sirius hissed, his eyes darkening. "And then, when he's begging for mercy, you will give him a little kiss before I murder the scumbag."

"That sounds excellent," James said, his stomach rumbling quietly at the thought of finally feeding after months of restraint.

Together, they continued to ascend the stairs in silence ready and hoping to find the unsuspecting wizard and give him a special brand of punishment.

~o~o~o~

James hovered over the foul wizard, feeding as though his life depended on it. It had been too long since he had experienced the worst memories of a human, and whilst this man's memories paled in comparison to those of many other people, it was certainly doing the trick.

 _Peter approached the blonde girl, casting a glance back at his two best friends who gave him a look of encouragement before clearing his throat._

 _The girl turned around, still laughing at something her friend had said, her face falling as soon as she saw Peter._

" _Can I help you?" she said in a harsh tone. "Are you lost? Confused?"_

" _I—I w—was—" he stuttered._

" _You were w—w—w-hat?" she said, imitating him. "Going to finish your sentence this decade?"_

 _Peter shifted nervously on the spot and cast his eyes to the ground, thinking that this had been a bad idea._

" _I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" Peter said, faking confidence._

" _Haha," the girl laughed. "You are a funny one Paul."_

" _Peter," he mumbled, correcting her._

" _Whatever," she said, waving her hand. "The fact that you think I would go out anywhere with someone like you is hilarious. I mean look at you. You're a freak. Now run along before my highly jealous boyfriend hexes you."_

 _Peter could feel the eyes of everyone in the vicinity resting on him, relishing in his humiliation. He could hear their silent, stifled laughter ringing in his ears._

" _Now, Patrick!" she snapped._

 _Peter turned around and sloped back to his friends, vowing to never follow their advice and encouragement again._

James shook his head unable to believe how pathetic this man's worst memories were. Where was the horror?

"How do you like that, traitor?" Sirius taunted from the sidelines as he drew his wand.

"P—please, s—s—stop," the man gasped, shortly before a convulsing in pain on the floor.

James cast a glance towards his companion and raised his eyebrows.

"You didn't think I'd let you have so much fun on your own, did you?" Sirius asked, smirking as the man thrashed around.

"No, by all means, have your fun," James offered, gliding to one side. "In all honestly, I've had my fill of Quidditch failures, being rejected by women and cumming too soon with his whores."

Sirius laughed loudly. "Those are his worst memories?" he asked. "I'll have to make sure to replace them with something far worse before we snuff out his life."

"Please do," James requested. "I would love to have some proper sustenance before we kill this pile of shit, and continue carrying out your revenge."

"And sustenance you shall get, my friend," Sirius said. "Crucio!"

A look of pure terror crossed Peter's face as another wave of the curse spread through his body. And he certainly appeared to have a new worst memory, something much stronger than falling off a broomstick.

James, sensing that Peter was ripe for feeding on once again, glided towards him. He hovered next to the writhing man and sucked in the air that surrounded him. As he fed on the man, he relived the last few minutes from the traitor's perspective. It was horrific and full of terror—just the way James liked his memories.

"I think he's had enough now," Sirius whispered, lowering his wand.

"Yes, yes I have," Peter whispered, trying to get to his feet.

"No one said you could go anywhere," Sirius growled, throwing Peter back to the ground and pinning him there with a wave of his wand. "Care to give him a little kiss, James?"

James smirked at Sirius. "I thought you'd never ask," he whispered, kneeling down next to Peter and taking his face in his skeletal hands. "You should be honoured. This is my first time performing the kiss, and I will make sure I enjoy every last second of it."

Peter shook his head from side to side, trying to release it from James' grip. James lowered his head and placed his lips around Peter's mouth and began to inhale. As he sucked out the man's soul, James delighted in the knowledge that he would be leaving the treacherous beast a mere shell of a being.

Finally having his fill, and knowing Sirius desired for his former friend to be fully aware of what was happening to him, James glided to one side, leaving just a small fragment of Peter's soul inside the almost unconscious body.

"Are you ready to die, traitor?" Sirius sneered, brandishing his wand.

The man on the floor whimpered quietly as he tried to slide across the floor to the door, his weakened and fragile body barely able to move more than a centimetre.

"Not so fast, Pettigrew," the wizard whispered. "Avada kedavra!"

His feeble movements stilled and his head hit the floor with a barely audible thud.

"You just can't help yourself," a voice said from behind them.

James and Sirius spun around rapidly to see who had spoken, and found a man they both recognised leaning against the doorframe. It was a man they both believed to be dead, and neither one of them could quite figure out how he was there.

"Started and finished the party without me, I see, Sirius," the brunette commented, filling the silence and glancing at the corpse on the floor. "Couldn't you have waited a little while longer before killing him?"

"You know me, Remus," Sirius half laughed, a confused expression still on his face, "I've never been one to play with my food for too long. How are you here? You're dead… I saw you die."

"First of all, before I tell you, you have to understand that I never expected events to unfold this way," Remus rushed out. "I never thought you would get caught. You were always the most resourceful one of us. I was sure you would go underground into hiding for a while."

"Remus, what did you do?" Sirius asked, tears noticeably filling his eyes.

James glanced between the couple, suspecting that he had figured out what Remus had done. He should have known at the time he viewed the memory whilst he was feeding that something had been off, but he had been too preoccupied with discovering more about Sirius.

"I—I altered your memory," Remus admitted, his tone and facial features indicating how guilty he felt. "I needed people to believe I was dead so that _he_ would not see me coming when the time came."

"And that included me?" Sirius questioned, hurt crossing his face. "Why couldn't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, and I always intended to find you and restore your true memory when the time," Remus told him. "At the time, you agreed to it. You even said yourself that it would be the only way to lull Peter into a false sense of security."

"That does sound like me," Sirius mumbled. "But when I got captured, why didn't you act to free me before my trial ended?"

"You know I couldn't do that," Remus said softly. "And besides, I didn't even know you had been caught until I saw a copy of the Prophet from a few weeks ago. I've been underground for months."

"Okay, I don't like it but okay," Sirius whispered. "So are you going to get your sexy arse over here and kiss me or what?"

As Remus walked over to Sirius, James glided over to the other end of the room to give the two men some privacy as they reconnected physically. The unadulterated happiness in the room was stifling to him, and he could feel the effects of his most recent feed wearing off quickly.

"Let me know when you guys are finished," James muttered as he left the room, unsure of whether or not the two snogging men had registered a word he had said.

~o~o~o~

James roamed around the abandoned building for what felt like an ice age as he waited for the two men to finish their activities. The cold, dank and miserable atmosphere in the rest of the cabin was comforting to him.

"Hey, James," a cheerful voice chimed. "Allow me to formally introduce you to Remus Lupin. Remus, this is James, he's the one who helped me escape from Azkaban."

"Pleasure," James said, extending his skeletal hand to Remus.

Remus took his outstretched hand and returned the sentiments with a smile and a nod. "Thank you for helping Sirius," he whispered. "I know it is not in your kinds nature, and you really didn't have to."

"As I told Sirius, he didn't deserve to be there," Jame informed him. "So what are we going to do now?"

"Now we go after the bastard that carried out the deed," Sirius said menacingly.

"But he's dead," Remus stated, furrowing his eyebrows. "Everywhere I've been in the last few months that is all anyone could say."

"You don't seriously believe that, do you?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows at Remus.

"I have to agree," James stated. "I have had the pleasure of feeding on one of his most loyal Death Eaters and she is adamant he's alive. Perhaps she knows something we don't?"

"Exactly!" Sirius exclaimed. "You don't really think he would make it that easy to kill him."

"I suppose so," Remus mused, biting his bottom lip. "But we can't rush into this. It will take a lot of time and careful planning."

"That's why we have you," Sirius said, giving Remus a predatory look. "You've got brains as well as looks."

James pretended to gag as the two exchanged lustful stares. To him, they were practically undressing each other with their eyes.

"When you two are quite finished, don't you think we should make a plan?" James asked

"Yes, absolutely," Sirius said, clearing his throat. "So, Remus, what do you have in mind?"

James didn't miss the way that Remus tore his eyes off Sirius, another look of guilt crossing his face. It would seem that Remus was sure that what he was about to say would not be an idea Sirius would willingly get on board with.

"We start with Bellatrix Lestrange," Remus answered. "I assume that is the Death Eater to whom you were referring?"

"Yes," James replied, casting a glance at Sirius whose hands were balled up into fists.

"Do you think you'll be able to get us into Azkaban so we can break her out?" Remus inquired, trying his best not to look in Sirius' direction.

"Yeah I think so, but—" James started.

"No," Sirius said, finally finding his voice. "No way! Absolutely not!"

"I know you don't like it, Sirius, but she is going to be our best lead and we need her intel," Remus told him, making eye contact with him, silently imploring him to see reason. "You can do whatever you want to her after _he_ is dead."

"Fine," Sirius sighed. "I don't like it, but fine."

"Great! James, tell me everything you know about Azkaban's internal and external defences," Remus requested. "I don't buy that Ministry bullshit about there not being any for one second."

James smirked, knowing that Remus' assumption was completely correct and began to fill them in on everything he knew.

* * *

 **Thank you, Liza for looking over this for me.**

 **You have her to thank for Remus' late appearance.**

 **Let me know your thoughts please**


	4. Vampire James

**Event:** Costume Party

 **Costume:** Vampire

 **Word Count:** 723

* * *

Vampire!James - Her Saviour

He watched her walk down the street, making her way home from a late night studying in the library. It was his favourite way to begin his evening, basking in the redhead's beauty and wanting to take her and mark her as his. However, whenever he thought about that, something inside him stopped him. A small voice in his head told him that she was too pure, too good, to be tainted, or turned into a creature of the night like him.

As she passed by him, James inhaled her scent and began to salivate. He would need to feed soon, but there was still some time before the thirst for blood overcame him, and until then, he would follow the redhead to her next destination.

He kept a safe distance away from her, but that wasn't enough for her to stop dead in her tracks and turn around, looking directly at him. She shrugged to herself before turning around and carrying on. If her eyesight had been any better, she would have been able to see him lurking in the shadows behind the found himself, not for the first time, wondering what it would be like if she saw him and knew what he was. Would she run away from him? Would she be inquisitive? Or would she attempt to stake him through the heart like they did in those movies? If he were to guess, he would say the latter, simply because she seemed like a feisty young woman from what he observed.

"Get off me!" a voice yelped, pulling James from his musings about the gorgeous redhead who had become his obsession in recent months.

His head snapped up recognising the soft cry, concern flooding his entire being.

"No," he gasped as the scene in front of him began to unfold.

A man dressed completely in black had hold of the object of his affection, gripping her hair tightly and holding a knife to her throat. Her handbag slipped from her grasp as she let out a startled scream.

James felt his fangs leave his gums and quite snarl left his lips.

"Cooperate, girl, and no one will get hurt," the man hissed, pressing the knife against her skin and drawing blood which James could smell from where he was watching.

 _Just one taste and he could turn her._

"Fail to do as I say, and your next breath will be your last," her attacker added, pressing his lips to her cheek.

 _How dare he threaten her life?_

Rage and anger filled James, replacing any amount of bloodlust he felt in an instant. All he wanted to do now was protect her and keep her safe from this man.

"The hell it will," she hissed, thrusting her elbow backwards and hitting him in the groin.

Her attack doubled over in pain whilst the redhead bent down and grabbed her bag.

"Oh, I think it will," the man whispered, straightening up and plunging the knife into her stomach.

The redhead fell to the ground, clutching her wound whilst the man's lips curled into a malevolent smile.

"Noooo!" James yelled, running towards the man and throwing him to the ground. "How. Dare. You?"

James hit the black haired attacker repeatedly before sinking his teeth into his neck and drinking his blood, making sure to draw enough to ensure that he would not make the change. After he had taken the right amount, he removed his teeth from his neck just in time to watch the life flicker out of his eyes.

"Help," the girl whimpered, drawing James out of his satisfaction.

He threw the limp body to one side and rushed over to her. The blood was leaving her body fast, her heart thumping slower and slower with every moment that passed. James knew from past experience that she wouldn't make it through the night, not even with all the medical progress that had occurred in James' three hundred years on the earth.

The only option would be to change her.

"I can save you," James whispered. "But you would be leading a cursed life. I need you to understand, you would become like me, a creature of the night."

"I understand," she croaked quietly. "Please."

James nodded his head and lowered his mouth to her neck and began to drink.


	5. Merman James

**Subject:** Charms

 **Task:** Write a Merman AU

 **AU:** Merman

 **Word Count:** 1292

* * *

The Return Home

James ran as quickly as he could away from the girl who had just broken his heart. His feet pounded against the pavement, heading towards the sea where his colony lived.

 _How could he have been so stupid to fall for a human?_

 _Why did he have to rebel against his parents when they insisted on setting him up with a 'nice mermaid girl from a good family' as they liked to put it?_ It would have saved him a lot of pain.

 _And what would he tell his friends?_ He was certain they would know in an instant that something had happened.

What he needed was a good lie to tell them, something that they wouldn't question, but what?

Perhaps he could tell them she had died. That could work, and it would be a good reason for him to be visibly upset.

But how could she have died? James knew that she had a passion for the extreme sports such as skydiving and bungee jumping. Maybe her parachute could have failed, or the rope could have snapped causing an instantaneous death.

Reaching the harbour, James dived straight into the water, not bothering to check if there were any humans watching. For all he cared, they could see him, it's not as though he would ever be coming back to the surface again. He had had enough of the stupid humans and their stupid heart-breaking ways. He should never have made the decision to live predominantly on land with a daily trip to the water to meet with his friends under the condition that they never mentioned his parents.

He flipped his tail and swam deep into the water, returning to the home that he hadn't seen in three months.

~o~o~o~

"Ahh, the wanderer returns," the guard said as he reached the gates surrounding his colony. "It's a shame that you're too late."

"Too late for what?" James asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"To say goodbye, what else?" the guard grumbled.

"Say goodbye to whom?" James questioned, wondering why the city guard was looking at him like he was stupid.

"The King and Queen; your parents," he told him. "Don't tell me you didn't know? Sirius and Remus were supposed to tell you weeks ago they had fallen ill."

All thoughts of Lily, the human girl he had loved, left his mind as he processed just what the guard was telling him. His parents were dead.

"No, they didn't say anything," James said in disbelief. "I never gave them a chance to; every time they mentioned their names I stopped them."

"Well at least that explains why you didn't return as they expected."

"And the funeral?" James asked, squeezing his eyes shut and holding back the tears as he thought about the last words he had spoken to his parents.

"It is to be held next week after the crowning of our new king, Lord Severus," the guard informed him.

James' hands balled into fists. Lord Severus was to be crowned king. That wasn't right. As his father's only son, the throne should pass to him, not some undeserving slime ball who had the faintest relation to them through his grandfather's sister.

"No," James whispered. "That's not right. When is the coronation?"

"It should be starting any minute now," the merman said as his trident began to glow signalling that a ceremony was about to commence.

 _No, no that couldn't be. He had to stop it and claim his rightful place on the throne._

Without offering the guard anymore words, James flipped his tail and swam as fast as he could through the gates and towards the grand palace.

As he swam by, the many civilians of the colony stopped and stared in awe. And when he left, they whispered about the wayward prince who they had long given up on. James paid no attention to their chattering; he was too determined to reach his destination before it was too late.

Finally, after what felt like forever, he reached the palace, and as he tried to enter, the two merman guards placed their tridents across the doors.

"You shall not pass," the merman James recognised as being the disgraced Walden Macnair.

"Macnair," James hissed. "I am your rightful King, and I will pass."

"You will not," he bit back. "Our rightful King is being coronated as we speak."

"Walden is correct, Sir," the other guard said. "Lord Severus was chosen by the High Council. The only person who could challenge this is the son of our late King, and he is nowhere to be found."

"He is right in front of you," James said, cocking his head to one side. "Surely my three month absence has not rendered me completely unrecognisable?"

The guard pondered him for a moment and took in his appearance, ignoring Walden's mutterings about him being an imposter.

"Prince James," he said after a few minutes, moving his trident from the door. "I apologise. I fear my, as I grow older, my eyesight isn't quite what it used to be. Let him pass, Macnair."

"But, Sir, what about our orders?" Walden asked quietly. "Lord Severus—"

"Lord Severus has no authority now that Prince James has returned," the older guard said. "Now let him pass. And I must remind you that if you refuse a direct order again, you will find yourself back in the pit Lord Severus dragged you from."

"Fine," Walden grumbled, moving his trident out of the way.

James pushed open the doors and swam towards the front of the grand hall, just as a crown was about to be placed on Severus' head.

"STOP!" James cried loudly. "That crown belongs to me."

Severus reached his hands up, and pulled the stunned minister's hands down so the crown rested on his head before turning around to face James.

"You are too late, Potter," Severus hissed. "The throne is mine. Guards, seize him!"

"Seize him and you will have me to deal with," a voice James recognised as belonging to Sirius Black.

"And me," another voice, belonging to Remus Lupin, added.

James turned his head to see his two best friends swimming towards him, and smiled.

"Sorry we're late, mate," Sirius said jovially. "Remus here is insatiable, and we didn't hear of your arrival until mere moments ago. But at least we didn't miss much."

"SEIZE THEM ALL!" Severus yelled, swishing his tail wildly.

James, Remus and Sirius stared down all the advancing guards.

"I am your rightful ruler," James said loudly. "Are you really going to let this usurper order you around? Do you really want someone whose blood is not pure ruling you? If the answer to these questions is no, then seize him."

The guards stopped in their tracks before turning and swimming towards Severus, and grasping his arms.

"Unhand me, I am your King," Severus ordered, trying to writhe his arms from the guards' grasp.

"I should inform you, Mister Snape, that you are not," the minister said softly. "In accordance with our law, if an elected person is coronated whilst there is another heir a year must pass before their kingship is secure."

James smirked at the still struggling, albeit stunned, Severus as he swam towards him.

"Take him away," James ordered, taking the crown from his head. "Minister, I believe you have a true coronation to perform."

"Indeed I do," he answered, smiling. "It's good to see you back where you belong, Prince James."

"It's good to be home," James said. "It's just a shame about the circumstances."

"My deepest condolences," the minister said sadly. "Shall we begin?"

James nodded his head, and swam the last couple of feet to the altar where he would transform from a prince to a king.


	6. Fallen Angel James

**Subject:** Herbology

 **Task:** Write about a dead person coming back to life.

 **Jewel Day Challenge:** Amazonite - Necklace: Write a Reincarnation AU

 **Weekly Drabble:** James/Sirius

 **Writing Club:** Book club - Fallen

 **Word Count:** 500

* * *

Different This Time

" _You must choose!" He said as James approached the throne._

" _No." He glanced over his shoulder at the dark haired man he had fallen in love with and repeated, "No!"_

" _You have to choose a side," the angel, Alice, begged fearfully from behind him. "Please."_

 _God sighed. "Then you leave me with no choice."_

 _And then suddenly, James and his fellow angels were falling. Falling fast to the ground. To earth. James' eyes never left his love as they fell side by side. His hand reached out to touch him, and then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone._

~o~o~o~

James awoke in a cold sweat, alone in his bed at Hogwarts, a reform school for supposedly troubled teens. He ran his hand through his hair as he sat up in his bed.

"Bad dream?" Alice asked, walking over with a glass of water, something which had become something of a routine over the last millennia.

James nodded his head. "The same dream."

Alice rushed towards him, placed the water on his bedside table and embraced him tightly.

"He's coming you know," Alice whispered. "We can't have him seeing you in such a state after the last seventeen years."

"It feels like a million years since I lost him last because of that wretched curse Lucius, or Lucifer as he is going by now, placed on us, on him," James admitted. "I can't go through it again—I just can't."

"I have a feeling this time will be different," Alice informed him. "Don't ask me how I know because I just do. You will be with your love, and I will be able to return to heaven and be with my Frank. Now, the sun is coming up so let's get ready for another day in this mad house."

James gave half laugh and nodded his head as he tried to put his vivid memory to the back of his mind.

~o~o~o~

As James and Alice made there way towards the Great Hall, the school was abuzz with chatter about a new student. James paid them no mind but if he had he would have heard a familiar name.

As it was, James went about his daily routine and going through the motions until he walked into his religion class and came face to face with the dark haired man he had chosen to love over his love for God.

"Sirius," he gasped quietly, recognising the angel of the evening star and feeling the ache in his heart subside.

Their eyes locked across the classroom, and James was certain Sirius' soul recognised his. James smiled broadly at the curiosity in Sirius' eyes, something that was present in every lifetime they had fallen in love… until that love was snatched from their grasp by the curse.

James worried about whether or not he could go through getting close to Sirius again only to lose him soon after. But, what if Alice was right and things were going to be different this time?


End file.
